What it is
Movies in the dark. The TV will be used for watching movies in a controlled environment, directly in front, in a home theater way. Mostly only high quality content, like Blu-rays, UHD Blu-rays, streaming and a little bit of HDR.

What it is
TV Shows in a bright living room. The TV will be used in to watch TV shows, in a bright room during the day, from multiple viewing positions at different angles. The content watched has an average quality: cable, streaming, SD channels, etc.

What it is
Video games. The TV will be used to play video games, directly in front, in a controlled light environment. Usually fast games, like online FPS, where motion blur and input lag is important.

What it is
HDR Gaming. The TV will be used to play HDR video games using consoles that support it or on current generation gaming PCs. Xbox One S, PS4 Pro, GTX 10 series and AMD RX series graphics cards.

The Vizio E Series 1080p 2016 is an entry level TV, lacking many of the features found in higher end models. It has below average picture quality, but handles motion well. It features the same SmartCast platform found on higher end models such as the Vizio M Series 2016.

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Design

The Vizio E 1080p 2016 is blocky, and made of plastic. It features a wide set stand which supports the TV well. An improvement on last year's design, but very basic and won't turn any heads. Looks identical to the 4k variant of the same TV.

The Vizio E Series 1080p offers a below average picture quality. It offers a good contrast ratio, but the bad black uniformity and the poor local dimming results in worse performance in dark scenes. When viewed at a slight angle, the picture quality degrades really fast. The gray uniformity and peak brightness are also far from impressive, making the 1080p E series an uninspiring TV.

Good value:
Full-array/direct lighting is better for local dimming. As for the uniformity of the screen, it depends on the implementation. Some edge-lit TVs have more uniform blacks than some full-array TVs.

Has a full array backlight, but zones are horizontal and the full width of the screen. Looks similar to Samsung edge-lit TVs such as JS8500. Note that the different sizes have different numbers of dimming zones, as shown in the 'Differences between Sizes and Variants' below. The E48-D0 we reviewed has 5 local dimming zones.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 2% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

When it matters:
Bright highlights, present on screen for a short time; especially for SDR content.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 10% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

When it matters:
Bright objects, present on screen for a short time; especially for SDR content.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 25% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 50% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 100% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 2% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

When it matters:
Bright highlights, persistent throughout a scene; especially for SDR content.

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 10% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

When it matters:
Bright objects, persistent throughout a scene; especially for HDR content.

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 25% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 50% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 100% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

The peak brightness is below average for the Vizio E Series 1080p TV. The peak brightness measurements are with 'Active LED' set to on. The TV takes a few seconds to respond to dark screens with backlight dimming.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity the TV can obtain while playing a movie or while watching a TV show. This scene was selected to represent a more realistic movie condition. All measurement are made with the TV set to be as bright as possible, but with a 6500k white. Measured with local dimming, max backlight and over HDR signal. Scene: here.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 2% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

When it matters:
Bright highlights, present on screen for a short time; especially for HDR content.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 10% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

When it matters:
Bright objects, present on screen for a short time; especially for HDR content.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 25% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 50% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 100% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 2% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

When it matters:
Bright highlights, persistent throughout a scene; especially for HDR content.

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 10% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

When it matters:
Bright objects, persistent throughout a scene; especially for HDR content.

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 25% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 50% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 100% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

Black uniformity is disappointing, not to say the least. You can clearly see on the picture that the center is much darker than both sides of the screen, this is due to the narrow viewing angle. The picture quality at the sides degrades even when viewed from in front.

You can see easily the 8 bit gradation on our gradient picture. Color gradation are more visible in the darker colors but does not exhibit real banding issues. The only color tint problem are due to the gray uniformity problem in the corners.

Issues with the SmartCast App meant the changes to the white balance and color space were not visible on the app. This made calibration very difficult, but since the pre-calibration result was very good this is not an issue.
You can see our calibration settings here.

Average at dealing with reflections, and better suited to a room without much glare. One or two windows at the side should be fine, but the backlight is not bright enough to combat too many reflections.

The Vizio E48-D0 uses a different type of pixel. It has a horizontal pixel contrary to the more used vertical pixel matrix. This type of horizontal pixel matrix seems to offer a narrower viewing angle. This is the same type of horizontal pixel found in the Vizio E 4k 2016.

7.8

Motion

The Vizio E Series 1080p offers good motion handling but does not have any motion interpolation option at all. Movies appear smooth when playing from sources like DVDs, Blu-rays and from streaming apps. Unfortunately, people sensitive to judder will notice it when movies are playing from cable/satellite box outputting a 60p or 60i signal.

Motion is handled well. The transitions are quick, but do have some overshoot. This is visible in the lighter trail following the logo. The transitions appear to be similar to the Vizio E Series 4k 2016, but tuned differently which causes a faster response but with the drawback of more overshoot. The backlight uses PWM to dim which causes some flickering.

Just like the other 2016 Vizio TVs, the E Series 1080p has a 'Clear Action' setting which reduces the backlight flicker frequency to 60Hz and clears up motion. This is good for gamers or sports fans who don't mind some visible flicker.

Input lag is good for the E Series 1080p. To have the lower input lag, you need to set the picture mode to 'Game' and also turn on the 'Game Low Latency' option. With these settings, the input lag varies between the lowest value of 29.6ms and about 45ms.

Sound Quality

The sound on the Vizio E Series 1080p is average. For a lot of people it will be fine, but doesn't get very loud and lacks bass. For those who are interested in better sound, a soundbar is an improvement.

Note: Sound Quality test for TVs reviewed before 2017 was performed at 75dB, 85dB, and Max SPL. Starting 2017, the target SPL levels have been changed to 70dB, 80dB, and Max dB SPL.

Above average and mostly flat frequency response. However, the low-end cutoff of 143Hz means that this TV lacks a lot of bass. Also, with maximum loudness of 88.32B, this TV doesn't get much loud either. Additionally, under maximum loudness, pumping and compression will be present in the higher frequencies.

Average distortion results. The overall amount of harmonic distortion at 75 and 85dB SPL are good. However, at maximum volume, there is a dramatic rise in harmonic distortion with high amounts of aliasing. However, the high distortion and aliasing will be less noticeable in real-life situations.

Smart Features

This TV features the same SmartCast platform found on the higher end Vizio TVs this year, such as the Vizio M Series 2016. It works similarly to ChomeCast, as the TV receives information about streams to play from a tablet, phone or PC. Unlike the higher end models (Vizio M Series 2016 and Vizio P Series 2016), it does not come with an included tablet. This TV has an inbuilt tuner, unlike the 4k variant.

Apps

There are no applications on the TV itself, but any Android or iOS phone can stream to the TV. There are many major applications which support this platform, such as YouTube, Netflix and Spotify. Amazon Prime Video is not supported at the moment.

The Vizio E Series 1080p 2016 is a budget TV, but it offers poor picture quality even considering the price. There are other TVs for the same price which provide much better overall performance. Keep this in mind when viewing our recommendations below.

The Vizio D Series 1080p 2016 is available at a lower price but provides better picture quality and motion performance. The picture quality degrades from the side similarly to the Vizio E Series 1080p 2016. The D Series features a basic smart platform which may be more intuitive to navigate but is more limited in features. Unless you really like the SmartCast platform, save the money and go with the Vizio D Series 1080p 2016.

The Samsung KU6300 is a step up in price, but comes with improved picture quality across the board. It has a 4k panel with better blacks and a brighter screen. The picture quality still degrades from the side, but is an improvement over the Vizio E Series 1080p 2016. If you can afford it, go with the Samsung KU6300.

The TCL FS3750 is another budget 1080p TV which offers slightly better picture quality. It features better uniformity and similarly good motion handling. It also has the Roku smart platform which is arguably more intuitive and provides more functionality. Overall the TCL FS3750 is a better choice for a similar price range.

The Vizio E Series 4k 2016 is the higher resolution variant of the same TV. It has better picture quality when viewed from directly in front, and degrades similarly when viewed at an angle. Unfortunately the motion performance is not good, with lots of motion blur. Both TVs aren't recommended as they have competing models with better performance for the same price.

What it is
Movies in the dark. The TV will be used for watching movies in a controlled environment, directly in front, in a home theater way. Mostly only high quality content, like Blu-rays, UHD Blu-rays, streaming and a little bit of HDR.

What it is
TV Shows in a bright living room. The TV will be used in to watch TV shows, in a bright room during the day, from multiple viewing positions at different angles. The content watched has an average quality: cable, streaming, SD channels, etc.

Below average for watching TV in a bright room. When viewed at a slight angle, the picture quality degrades very rapidly. The TV is average at dealing with reflections, and cannot get bright enough to combat glare.

What it is
Video games. The TV will be used to play video games, directly in front, in a controlled light environment. Usually fast games, like online FPS, where motion blur and input lag is important.

Below average as a PC monitor. Motion is handled well and input lag is good. Unfortunately only a 1080p resolution and picture quality is below average. Does not support Chroma 4:4:4 for clear text on some backgrounds.

Questions & Answers

2 ANSWERED QUESTIONS

1

I have the Vizio E43-D2 model and I'm wondering whether the panel uses a vertical or horizontal pixel matrix. Is there any way for me to test this?

To test this, you have to see the pixels close up. If you have a magnifying glass or a lens this is a possibility, or if you are able to take a macro image of the pixels. If you do find out, we would be interested to know as well.